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| Macau police lead suspect away (still photo from TDM Macau) |
Macau Police have arrested a 30-year-old Filipino cleaner for his alleged involvement in a job scam, in which 55 other Filipinos lost a total of 1.14 million patacas (roughly the same in HK dollars).
In a press conference held Monday,
a Judiciary Police (JP) spokesman identified the suspect as a non-resident
worker surnamed Regamit. A second suspect is believed to have fled to the
Philippines and is being sought.
Philippine Consul General to
Macau Edna Lazaro told The SUN that they had received a consular notification
about the case, and have already coordinated with the Interpol. However,
Interpol is unable to provide the name of the suspect now believed to be in the
Philippines.
The JP said the 55 Filipino
victims went to its headquarters and complained about being defrauded by
Reganit, who allegedly collected betweem 15,000 and 28,000 patacas from each of
them, for a total of 1.14 million patacas.
Reganit had allegedly posted
on social media starting in June that he could assist fellow Filipinos in
obtaining jobs as cleaners or security personnel in Macau. No interviews or medical
examinations were required.
The victims said they were
convinced by Reganit’s claim that he and his missing partner, said to be also a non-resident worker, were acting for a recruitment agency in Macau in securing the posts.
The victims agreed to fly to
Macau and meet with Reganit. During the meetings, Reganit collected between
15,000 and 28,000 from each applicant, along with their identification
documents. He then issued them receipts, and told them to wait patiently.
But when he stopped
communicating with them, or ignored their pleas to give back their money, the
victims decided to report to the police.
Police arrested Reganit in
Areia Preta in northeastern Macau, but learned that the second suspect had fled
Macau last week. Seized from Reganit were a number of receipts and a laptop
with the applicants’ personal details.
The recruitment agency they
used in convincing the victims told police the two suspects never worked for
it.
If convicted for fraud, the
suspects face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
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| The Judicial Police said another Filipino suspect had fled to the Philippines last week |
In July a similar scam was
uncovered after 26 Filipinos reported to the police after being made to work
for months in a Japanese restaurant but never got paid.
The Filipina resident who managed
the restaurant allegedly collected 22,000 patacas from each of them for the jobs,
resulting in a total amount of about 500,000 patacas.
Police investigation
revealed that the employment visas they held were fake, and that the restaurant
did not have the quota necessary to hire imported workers.
The Filipina recruiter was arrested, and the police said then that they could not rule out other arrests, as at least two companies appeared to be involved in the scam.
The PCG in Macau reportedly said they were aware that more than 50 Filipinos had been victimized in the scam.
